NO PANTS on the Metro!

Apparently, it was No Pants Metro Ride in D.C., Baltimore and New York yesterday. The participants of the "No Pants" took their pants off in the middle of a metro ride. (The particpants did put their shoes back on - because "No shirt, no shoes, no service." Nothing was ever said about "No Pants!").

The "No Pants" stunt was a creation of a group called Capital Improv, who said their goal was to "bring moments of random happiness and confusion to as many people as possible." The group is supposedly responsible for other previous stunts in D.C., including the recruitment of random tourists for armies.

(Jalpa)

My proof of visitation!

We kind of split off yesterday, so just to fill the others in, I went to the Natural History Museum and took a picture of the elephant thing in the entryway. Pretty.. cool.. I guess. The museum itself was pretty solid, though. Jeff got to hear me explain all of the animals I dislike (bugs, sea creatures, birds) yet I couldn't help but stare at the pictures of deep sea creatures and giant bugs.. ew. There were also some adorable foxes and tiny mice for me to point at and say "aw." We also had no idea where we were going the whole time because the rooms kind of wind around.. But I think we got it all in the end. Oh, and the Hope Diamond is small but I guess kind of cool. It would look pretty baller as a broach or a giant ring. Ten cool points if you steal it for me!

We then ventured over to the Art Museum.. One of them.. And I took a creepy picture of my group admiring the fountain. Because that's how I roll. There was some pretty impressive statuary and all that good stuff. I've actually been to both of these museums before so I spent more time being impressed by the architecture and being pleased that I was out of the cold. There was nothing on par with the Mona Lisa (and her creepy smile) but art fans will be far from bored here.

Plenty more to go! And lots of monuments. I'll be happy as long as I get to hit up Lincoln's Memorial because that man was quite tall and I'm a sucker for tall men. So obviously he's my favorite president. I heard he also did some good stuff to abolish slavery or something, so that's a plus.

-Lilly

Fun in D.C.

Hi friends,

This blog isn't so much a report on things that I've done as it is about things we could all go do in the future. I know we have a big list of stuff to see but it's a big city and some cool stuff isn't on the list. :)

You can find events in the area here: http://washington.org/. If you find anything good, share it!

I think plays, musicals, or concerts would be a fun thing to do. There's the Shakespeare Theatre Company for one.. Not sure about others.

Other things:

-THE ZOO! IT'S FREE! THEY HAVE PANDAS! It's open daily until 4:30 and I would be sooo thrilled if anyone would accompany me some Saturday/Sunday.

-The aquarium!! It's $6 each if we go as a group (only $8 regular).

-Chinatown! Always a good time.

Feel free to comment or edit this to add others.

Peace and Love-

Lilly

Comparative Advantage

These pictures are from a mug I bought at the Smithsonian American History Museum. The mug pictures the flag that was flown on September 14, 1814 at Fort McHenry in Baltimore to celebrate the critical victory over the British during the War of 1812. The sight of the flag waving "by the dawns early light" inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that would eventually become our national anthem. The sticker on the bottom clearly states that the mug was made in china, which along with my previous post highlights the theory of comparative advantage. With a population of nearly 1.4 billion people, China is, as my advisor Dr. Ian Sheldon says, "land scarce, labor abundant", allowing the Chinese to supply extremely cheap labor for the manufacture of goods. The U.S. on the other hand is rich in fertile soil and thus has a very large agriculture industry. While I'm on the econ kick (I am always on an econ kick), I should also highlight the price of a bottle of water at the museum at three dollars and no available drinking fountains. Monopoly anyone?

--Mike

Smithsonian and Surrounding Area

Today all ten of us went to the National Mall and visited many museums, which I am sure my colleagues will blog about later, but the building I am pictured in front of to the left is perhaps the most important. How can one live if unable to eat? The USDA was established in 1862 to support the mainly agrarian economy of this fertile nation. Today the USDA operates to save the world in many capacities. Back home in Columbus I worked for the USDA Rural Development Program, helping to secure housing loans for people in rural areas. To read more about the "Every day, every way" department for the people, go here: http://www.usda.gov/

--Mike

after a week of work and training things are starting to get into a groove. it started out rough but in an office and having new responsibilities is becoming easier. did a capitol tour today and saw some behind the scenes stuff through my job. also got some people a white house tour so it will be cool to see that before we go. first weekend coming up so exploring the bars in a new town should be good. also doing a lot of the museums saturday before things get too hectic.

Jeff

Security guards get to see you naked!

I was on my Twitter account today (1. Yes, I have a Twitter. Don't judge. Follow me at lillyshep. :) and 2. I had nothing better to do today, obviously) and CNN had posted something about that whole fiasco at the Newark airport.

Turns out, some guy walked through the wrong way while the TSA employee was off answering someone's question. He met a woman, hugged her, then then disappeared. He hasn't been found and they're speculating that he left through an exit about 20 minutes later. (You can see the video and read about it here: http://bit.ly/512hND).

This seems really ridiculous to me when you consider the fact that our government is planning to spend $1 billion on new security technology that can look through your clothes and detect bombs EVEN BETTER than before (http://bit.ly/7I7lDN). Yeah, that's what we need. If long lines weren't enough of a deterrent from flying, I think the knowledge that the guards are seeing you naked might just do the trick.

It all just makes me wonder, what are our priorities? We worry so much about scanning people as they enter but can't fully guard the exits. While this man was most likely completely harmless, people went nuts when they found out. And rightfully so. He could have have much more malicious intentions than to go greet someone. It all just leaves me a little confused. Why are we throwing $1 billion dollars are weird security measures when we can't even convince the guards to stay at their posts? It all seems a little silly to me.

Peace and Love,

Lilly

Obama Press Conference

We talked about how we need to be looking to the future to predict the ways in which we can be attacked by terrorists. How it sucks to take off our shoes and leave toothpaste and liquids in suitcases instead of carry-on items. In response to the "crotch bomber" as he is referred to around my office, Obama made an announcement saying how this unfortunate incident came to pass and what he ordered to prevent it. Here is the website...
http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2010/01/07/HP/R/28089/Pres+Obama+We+did+not+connect+the+dots+on+the+attempted+bombing.aspx
He admits that it was not the lack of intelligence that allowed the bomber on the plane but a lack of connection between the information we already have. So he ordered more individuals to be put on the "do not fly list" and added more information on profiles of people who could be terrorists...how much, if at all, do you think this will help to keep our airlines and people safe? I am worried that the al Queada will always be a step ahead of us, as they have already proven to be more times that I would like to rememeber.
-Joanna

Library of Congress and Jefferson Collection

As mentioned before, today we took a trip to the Library of Congress. We took a tour of the Thomas Jefferson Building (the entrance pictured above) and got our researcher's reading card in the James Madison Building. The LoC’s book collection is the largest in the world and has priceless items in it including an original copy of The Gutenberg Bible. On our tour of the Jefferson Building we viewed The Gutenberg Bible, also know as the 42-line Bible, which was one of the first books ever printed. This bible is on permanent display at the LoC and is considered priceless because it is one of only 4 complete copies in printed on vellum in existence.

The Jefferson Building houses the Main Reading Room and is the oldest of the three LoC buildings and the most common LoC building for tourists to visit. During the War of 1812 great deal of the original collection was destroyed, so to replace it Congress purchased Thomas Jefferson’s personal collection of nearly 6,500 volumes for just less than $24,000. Jefferson’s contribution was purchased due to its high quality and wide variety, it included books in other languages, cookbooks, and books of the physical sciences, literature, world history, and philosophy. Jefferson said of his collection that “I do not know that it contains any branch of science which Congress would wish to exclude from their collection; there is, in fact, no subject to which a Member of Congress may not have occasion to refer”, a quote which our tour guide recited flawlessly. His eclectic collection contained the types of books that are not commonly found in legislative items and were therefore the perfect basis for such a prolific library.

Over the past decade the LoC has made efforts to recreate Jefferson’s original collection, an exhibit which we viewed. A few notable volumes which we saw in the collection today were Plato’s The Republic, On Retirement by George Washington, and a French to Spanish dictionary.

On a personal note I can’t wait to use my researcher’s reading card, what a neat (and functional) souvenir!

– Andrea